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Sports & Athletics

On the heels of Denver Bronco’s 20-10 loss to the Oakland Raiders, NFL bettors are wondering whether Black and Silver is the new colour of money in the AFC West, if not Super Bowl 51 betting. Everybody loves a good Cinderella story, if you will.
The AFC West was poised delicately between the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders going into week 9, both level on a 6-2 SU record. Given the status quo in the division bookmakers opened with a PK line, which the public pounded with impunity where the Broncos were concerned. Curiously, sharps were all over the Raiders in almost equal measure according to SBR consensus betting polls. That balanced the action coming down the wire and maintained the PK line at closing doors with most major football betting exchanges.
Ask most NFL bettors at the time which is the legitimate divisional leader they’d likely have leaned towards the defending champions Denver Broncos. After all, Gary Kubiak’s side proved the colour of money was orange last term by not only winning the AFC West for the fifth straight season but also in winning Super Bowl 50.
Orange was money in the AFC West for several years (it even pre-dates Peyton Manning’s arrival in 2012). For those who ride NFL betting trends from week to week and season to season, it’s not surprising they would back the Broncos with their NFL picks in a pivotal clash against a side that has been a divisional lightweight in recent history.
Every strong trend ends eventually though, and the timely showdown between the pair seems to have done that by settling the score, at least for the time being. The Raiders threw down the gauntlet in a 20-10 win and take sole possession of first place with a 7-2 SU record. Broncos (6-3 SU) in turn slip into third, behind Kansas City Chiefs (6-2 SU) ahead of week 10.
As a consequence of the current hierarchy bookmakers readjust the AFC West market, serving up the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders in tandem as the teams to beat at +163 NFL odds for the divisional title. The Broncos are now third-best priced at +240 while the Chargers are longshots at +1600 (NFL odds courtesy of bet365).
We still don’t really know whether the Raiders are the real deal, but it does seem as if the colour of money in the AFC West is a hint of Black and Silver and a flourish of Red and White. Of course, things can change on a dime. Orange is passé in the context of the division now, but watch this space…
As the season winds down and the stakes increase – with one or the other, the AFC West title and/or a playoff spot on the line – that’s when the wheat starts to separate from the chaff. One has to consider experience at such a stage being a valuable edge, of which the sum total of Denver’s parts has in abundance and to some extent the Chiefs do too. Jack Del Rio’s young, untried and untested Raiders have yet to get over a hurdle like that in order to underscore their merit as credible contenders.
If there’s one area in football betting markets that echoes this sentiment it’s Super Bowl 51 Odds. In this overarching futures market, the Raiders are priced at +2000 while the Broncos are priced at a much shorter +1600 (Super Bowl 51 odds courtesy of bet365). Only the Chiefs are priced shorter than the pair at +1200, but that’s largely down to the fact that they are a game behind with a 6-2 SU record going into week 10. Whichever way you slice the AFC West, clearly, as far as the broad spectrum of the season is concerned the Broncos are still money. It would be foolhardy to write them off because of a divisional loss.